A House of Benevolent Apparitions
by GlitterCyborgPrincess
Summary: The Watanabe apartment has things moving around enough to make their lives vaguely frustrating. Occasionally items go missing, but they reappear a few days later. Mai never thought that SPR would investigate. But Naru throws her in for a loop and accepts the case, going as far to instate her as the lead investigator. Because what could possibly go wrong?
1. Prologue

If you end up in Shibuya, looking to solve the problem of a haunting, you'll probably end up at the SPR office. SPR, meaning Shibuya Psychic Research. Ordinarily, ending up here means you've either exhausted all your options or jumped immediately to 'haunting.'

If the latter, we'll probably have a problem because my boss is picky and doesn't like it when people do not look at all possibilities (likely, your case might be better off in the hands of a hospital or maybe even a police officer).

The former? Well, maybe then we'll take your case.

That is, as long as you don't make our boss angry by referring to his age or having a worse attitude than himself. There's only one person allowed to have a bad demeanor in this office and that's the boss. Shibuya Kazuya.

Shibuya Kazuya (aka Dr. Oliver Davis; AKA Naru, short for Narcissist) is 18 years old, so it's very surprising to learn that he runs this office. Especially where his assistant, Lin (almost 29, who is somehow _more_ gloomy that Naru himself) is older than him and his other investigator is 17 (me!).

Which isn't to say that he...wanted me as an investigator. Or thinks me capable as an investigator. He was forced into it. And now that his other assistant is gone (Taka, now a university student!), I'm mostly just office assistance unless we're in the midst of a case...and even then, I've been known to attract trouble. Meaning I mostly answer phone calls, file paperwork, and begrudgingly make tea every time Naru asks for it.

But anyway~

Naru is very picky about the cases we take at SPR. They have to be exciting enough to pique his interest. And they have to have enough activity that we can record it scientifically as he prefers. After all...he is a doctor (kind of).

We don't talk about that distinction. It just puts him in a bad mood.

Today was mostly quiet. We had gained enough reputation when Naru had left and when Madoka took over that we don't get as many stupid requests as we normally did when I started out. Unfortunately what we had gained was just a lot of people with smaller cases that didn't offer Naru much satisfaction in solving.

Our client that came in for consultation was a young woman under the name of Aiko Watanabe (she was maybe 25, and an assistant in a law office). She had just moved into a home with her husband (Fumio Watanabe, an accountant? I think? For some big magazine?) where they were having some problems with a ghost. Things were moving around, only a few centimeters at the time. Things went missing only to appear a few days later. But it was nothing that showed any imminent danger. Watanabe-san says that her mother died shortly after they moved, so she's worried about her mother not passing because the items that keep moving all belong to the daughter.

It was their wedding photos that went missing. She thinks (at the discretion of us not telling her husband this) that her mother is trying to warn her about her marriage.

Realistically, it sounds like a potential poltergeist but she's also too old to be doing stuff like this. I'm vaguely interested in what it could possibly be and yet I knew Naru would never take the case. He'd probably just tell me the reason they had troubles as soon as Watanabe-san left. And he'd probably make fun of me for not knowing right off the bat.

I smiled, inwardly. The client didn't know it, but these cases never interest him too much. It's very simple and—

Naru nodded, crossing his legs as he leaned back into the couch. "We'll take your case. If you speak with Taniyama-san here, she'll provide you with the necessary information about our investigation."

I flinched, gaping at my boss. However, he doesn't look at me. "Stop gaping, Mai." He pushed himself from the couch and disappeared into his office, leaving me with the client.

But I can't help but watch in wide-eyed shock as his door closed behind him.

Really? This case?

Both Naru and Lin-san had disappeared into their respective rooms, leaving me responsible for what would normally be Yasuhara's job (he's also a university student, in his second year and also a part-timer here on occasion): research. Turns out this week, he has some test or another and is actually studying for once.

Not to mention, I still haven't the faintest clue why we're taking the case. It's non-threatening and honestly, barely a nuisance for the client. They only wanted us there to make their lives a little bit easier. So now I'm stuck researching the neighborhood's history while the boss does...who knows what.

Now that he's not looking for Gene, I'm not really sure what he does with all his time anymore. I'm too afraid to ask because he'll probably be mad at me for asking.

Shortly after the client left, the SPR Irregulars arrived and made our couches into a coffee shop. Again. They even managed to summon Yasuhara-san, who had the excuse of needing the optimism of the SPR office as a study break (yeah, he's probably the one that orchestrated this meet up).

We all sat around the coffee table, and I was situated with some printouts from online I found before the gang showed up. But even as I coddle a cup of tea (that John thankfully agreed to make for us, seeing as I was already flustered at their sudden appearance) I found myself distracted by all the conversation.

"You know, you're making it very hard for me to concentrate."

Ayako scoffed. "Mai-chan, the more time you spend around that boss of yours, the more you act like him. Why don't you let me get you a clerk job at my parents' hospital?"

My cheeks puffed out. "I like it here very much, thank you."

"Besides, if Mai left—it's not like you can turn a hospital lobby into a coffee shop."

We flinched as Naru's voice wafted into the room. I turned and found him staring at us from his doorframe. I turned my eyes down and my cheeks burst into flames. Busted.

"However, now that you're all here, I ask you to clear your schedules for the next week."

I watched as the team fell into pandemonium.

"You can't ask that!"

"Why would we do that."

"Yeah, we don't like you that much to clear at the drop of a hat, Naru-bou."

That last one was Bou-san, whose eyes were wide and resentful. He probably had plans this weekend.

Naru just watched the scene in amusement.

"Out of good favor of Mai, of course." His lips curled up as he assessed the room. "Mai will be acting as lead investigator for this case. I'll be there for observation (and to fix any problems that may arise)."

EH? Me? Lead investigator? But that's—that's Naru's job! "What do you mean?"

He crossed his arms and looked me carefully in the eyes. "Do you not think you're ready? I can easily—"

"No! NO! I'll do it!" I shouted. Ha! Think you can take away something before I even had a taste? I'll show him! I'll be the best lead investigator the world has ever seen!

Naru just rolled his eyes and turned back to his office. "Mai, stop monologuing in your head. It's unbecoming."

Hey, you! But before I had the opportunity to shout after him, Naru shut the door behind him. The argument was over before it'd even begun. "Stupid, arrogant, jerk," I grumbled, relaxing back onto the couch. I stared long and hard at the teacup I abandoned on the coffee table. My friends cheered.

"Cheer up, Jou-chan! You're rising the ranks!" Bou-san cried, pulling his arm around my shoulder.

"I knew you could do it!"

"About time the boss man let her do something important!"

Around me, the SPR irregulars remaining in the office bustled with joy. They were all congratulating me for something I haven't even done successfully. Even Masako managed to a smile in my direction. I smiled with them, but I was suddenly unsure of myself as they all piled around to hug me.

My eyes glanced over to Naru' s office door and my gut wrenched. I couldn't help but feel like I've been tricked into something.


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

Despite my so-called position of lead investigator, the scheduling was decided by Naru beforehand. Due to the apartment complex's proximity to our own office, we didn't have to leave until after my classes were done for the day. Though, that might have been because Naru claimed I shouldn't be missing more school than absolutely necessary: lest I become the stupidest girl in all of Japan.

His words. Not mine. (Of course~)

Our car arrangements were the same as usual but that didn't stop me from letting myself get worked up in the ride over. Working with Naru and Lin for so long, the silence was normally calming. Today the silence pierced my head and made me even more anxious.

When I pushed myself out of the van, part of my excitement depleted. I knew that there was no way that wherever we were going was going to be super exciting (considering it was only about an hour drive from the office) but this was...normal. Average, at the very best. Heck, it pretty much looked like _my_ apartment complex. And I was supposed to believe this place was haunted?

It was nothing more than a simple apartment complex, with eight floors. While it was a novelty because we normally investigated houses...but I still felt the impending sense of dread that Naru was setting me up for some big joke. Like I would get up to the apartment and he would be all:

Just kidding! You really thought I would let you be a lead investigator! This is what's wrong with the apartment! Let's go home now!

Except Naru wasn't exactly one to joke around. And the others would certainly be pissed if they cleared the week for a practical joke.

Maybe this was an elaborate excuse to give us a vacation?

No, he's not that nice. I sighed.

I glanced at Naru who had opened his door and unbuckle yet remained in the car. He refused to meet my eyes. Instead, he opted to keep reading the book in his hands as we waited for the other car to show up. It was in English, as usual...but upon closer inspection of the title, it didn't appear to be one of his scientific books he read for his thesis research. (No way! He's reading a _book_ book? Like fiction?)

"Y'know I was almost thinking that you weren't capable of having any fun."

He glared at me. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"I think it's the fact you've deigned to read a fiction novel, _Noll_." Lin thankfully saved me from having to answer, walking around the car to open the trunk. "It's very uncharacteristic of you." He didn't say anymore and opted instead to begin moving some of the equipment out.

Naru rolled his eyes. "It'san English classic (not to mention a ghost story)." He turned to Lin. "You shouldn't do that. The boss hadn't told us what to do yet." Naru's eyes flicked to me and I flushed.

"If you're gonna be patronizing—"

"Should I ask Yasuhara-san to lead instead? Despite your seniority?"

My cheeks burned. He smirked, turning his nose back to his book. I glanced to Lin, who shrugged (but did in fact, stop, when Naru instructed). He leaned against the back of the van and my nerves bundled in my chest. Was I gonna be able to handle this if Naru's just going to act like a petulant child? It was too overwhelming.

"I told you Big Boss would make things awkward before we got here!"

I whipped around at the sound of a car door slamming and Yasuhara-san's sing-song as he approached us. The rest of the team followed, all of them seeming to be in relatively good cheer. Seems they had a better drive than I did. Part of my anxiety whittled away. I smiled. "Did you all make a wrong turn or something? You started out right behind us!"

Bou-san shrugged with a sheepish smile. "Perhaps I took a wrong turn to satisfy the terms of a friendly wager made in the car."

"A wager?"

Yasuhara-san cheered, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. I stepped out of his grasp but his smile never faltered. "Yeah, Ayako-san and Hara-san owe me and Takigawa-san a night out. John opted to play the neutral party this time. So no dinner for him"

I peeked over at John, whose face was flustered. "I didn't want to speculate your potential arguments with Shibuya-san."

Arguments? Ah, right. I'd already forgotten that Naru had already threatened to take my new position.

"I see you all still act like children even if Mai is in charge."

Ayoko smiled. "Aw, Naru-chan, aren't you going to show some respect to your boss? That would be 'Taniyama-san' to you."

"Ayako," I warned, feeling my cheeks burn. "Don't listen to her, Naru."

"I wasn't planning on it."

Eh? I knew he would never call me by my surname, considering I've been calling him 'Naru' since I started working for him. But he didn't have to say that out loud.

"So what's the plan of action, little boss?"

Yasuhara-san's simple question started a mess of Bou-san and Ayako asking similar questions, on top of each other. All three of them had different opinions on how I should start the day. Unpack. Split into teams. Interview the building. Lunch (Dinner?). So many suggestions and I knew they were all wrong.

John and Masako remained quiet, though I'm sure both of them were amused to see my distress. I glanced over to Naru, who was pointedly still focused on his book. His face, however, was curled in annoyance. Any more of this and... I don't want to think about it. I looked to Lin, who nodded.

I could do this.

"Please be quiet, guys. I need to focus."

They went silent and turned their attention back to me, thankfully.

I took a steadying breath. "I'll go up to meet Watanabe-san with..." I looked over my friends, feeling my nerves bubble up again. _Dang it_. I swallowed my fear and closed my eyes. No need to get worked up before I even get started, regardless of Naru edging me on. "I'll go up with Yasuhara-san and—and Naru? We'll scope out the apartment and figure out how much space we're dealing with. Then we can determine what equipment to bring up."

I opened my eyes in time to see Naru nod, stuffing his book back to the car and pulling out his case notebook to replace it. I sighed quietly, smiling.

So far, so good.

Leading my co-workers up into the apartment is enough to make my nerves return full force. It isn't until I found myself in front of apartment 12 that I realized that it's really happening. I'm really leading an investigation.

"It's very small," I whispered. It's small, I repeated mentally. _Too small_. My fingers curled into fists

"Normally with a case this small we would have tried to use another apartment in the building as our base. However, the superintendent wouldn't return my calls." Naru's voice was soft in my ear and I flinched as his breath tickled my neck. "Best way to prevent a situation like this when you do this yourself is to only accept larger houses with lots of room."

I nodded, letting myself relax a little bit. "Thank you."

I don't know if it was intention to calm me down, but he certainly helped. Then again...the way he said it, it sounded like I would be the one making decisions on where our bases would be. Or like I would have any sort of voice in the cases we worked on. It worked for the Agawa case because he was too tired to argue.

"Why would I be accepting cases? That's your job."

Yasuhara-san snorted but he didn't have the opportunity to make whatever joke he was planning on before he choked on a grunt. I could only assume Naru elbowed him. While my boss never usually resulted to physical violence, I couldn't help but giggle.

Naru glared at me and motioned to the door. _Right_.

Time to begin.

I braced myself and knocked on the apartment door, my stomach jumping circles all over again.

Watanabe-san opens the door with a wide smile on her face.

"Shibuya-san! And your assistant, uh, Taniyama-san, right?" Her eyes flicked over to Yasuhara-san as she brought us into the entryway. "I apologize, I don't think I remember meeting you at the consultation?"

He smiled at her, waving her words away. "No, no. I was in classes at the time. I'm Yasuhara, one of Shibuya-san's researchers. Taniyama-san's researcher, too!" He added cheerfully. "I'm a student at a local university."

Watanabe blinked. She turned to assess me. "Taniyama-san, you have a need for a researcher?"

My cheeks flushed. Normally I was my own (very poor) researcher but I couldn't tell her that.

"Taniyama-san will be working under my supervision as the lead investigator on the case," Naru supplemented, waving his hand in my direction

The woman's brows furrowed as if at this moment she regretted the decision to hire us. "A high school student?"

I bowed deeply. "I've been with SPR for just about two and a half years, please do not worry." I stood up straight and met her eyes. "I've learned from the best, so I will do my best to solve your case in a timely manner."

"Very well." She seemed pleased with my statement and pulled us farther into her apartment. "Let me take you on the grand tour."

Watanabe said 'grand' except I couldn't shake the feeling that this place was too small.

The tour would have taken a lot less time if Watanabe-san didn't have a story for each and every room. For the short time they lived here, she certainly had a lot to say about the small apartment. How in the kitchen, she finds herself dazedly coming in and out, forgetting what she had gone in for only to remember what it was a few minutes later. In the bedroom, the young woman had a tendency to lose track of sentimental items. The day she realized they were missing, the next day they would be back exactly where they were supposed to be.

If you asked me, what we're dealing with is less likely any paranormal activity and instead a severely forgetful (and stressed) woman.

"Ah, Taniyama-san, here." Watanabe-san took my hand as we circled back to the entryway and I flinched, feeling cool metal dig into my palm. "For your safekeeping."

Looking down, I opened my hand to find a keyring with a single key attached. It could only be for the apartment. And it looked like the original key, not a shiny new copy. I paused. "Does that mean you won't be living here through the duration of the investigation?"

I mean, that was better for us. More room for us, but even Naru looked relatively surprised by the turn of events. He, of course, was super great at hiding his emotions. I was not.

She shook her head. "No, my husband and I decided to stay at his mother's house until you figure out what's wrong with the apartment here." Her hand flies to her stomach. "We actually just found out that we're expecting, so it isn't safe to bring a baby into a home like this."

'It's not a dangerous place,' I protested in my head. But I didn't voice anything, because as I thought it, my stomach twisted. Was it my intuition telling me that it's not dangerous? Or just my knowledge of the case?

I offered her a weak smile. "Congratulations." Naru and Yasuhara-san parroted my sentiment, Yasu- san going as far as to shake her hand. "We'll make sure we let you know the findings, as quick as they occur. That way you can bring your family home as soon as possible."

Watanabe-san smiled at us, her smile warm. "Please don't hesitate to call if any questions arise."

Right.

Except I know that it's probably in my best interest to avoid superfluous contact.

"What're your plans, Little Boss?"

 _Yasuhara-san_ , I groaned mentally. _Stop calling me that._

I thought quickly, tapping on my chin. "When we get base set up, Lin-san will stay monitoring. He'll help us with camera angles when we start setting up. And..." I scanned over the room. My eyes landed on our resident priest. "John, you'll stay with him."

The blonde jumped, turning his eyes on me but he didn't say anything. He never worked with Lin but right now...I couldn't think of any other place to put him. There was no reason to set him up on an exorcism without knowing what we're dealing with first. I shrugged an apology at John and turned back to the group.

"Yasuhara-san, I'm counting on you to interview the other tenants on this floor. Ask them if they experience the same mischief or anything that might be considered paranormal phenomenon." I twist my lips. "Masako, please go with him and report back on if you can sense any spirits."

They nodded; Masako didn't even complain like she would have normally if I told her what to do. I turned to Ayako and Bou-san. "You two are on dinner duty, when base is set up. Over dinner, we'll reconvene with each other and compare notes. We'll have you two start blessings as needed after Yasu-san's and Masako's walkthrough of the building."

While they might have been temporarily peeved that I decided to pair them together just like Naru had a tendency to do, neither of them dared protest. They just wordlessly nodded and accepted their responsibilities.

And now the only person left is...

Naru~

He looked at me with raised brows, as if he was challenging me to tell him to do something he didn't want to do. For a moment I considered ordering him to make tea. But there were two problems with that: 1) he would get really mad at me 2) he's not exactly proficient at making tea (he over steeps it or burns the leaves).

I smiled, teasing. "And I'll be with you, Naru. We'll be doing cameras and temperatures just like the good old days of when you first hired me. Gotta make sure you're still capable of a job that isn't sitting on your butt and watching a screen."

He scowled but didn't argue.

I grinned, following him and the others out and back down to the van.

I win~

The base was set up rather quickly after the lot of us brought up the equipment. As much as I enjoyed teasing Naru about his penchant for avoiding doing the work (and by extension, me doing all of the work) he was fast and efficient in doing my usual job of setting up the cameras.

He'd even taken the opportunity to explain one of the newer cameras that was recently shipped in. Normally, I might have been annoyed...but today, for some reason, he wasn't particularly arrogant when explaining. His voice was matter-of-fact and left no room for questions. It was one of the first times in a long while that I was happy to learn something new (probably since my first cases, to be quite honest).

We made it back to base with time left before the others arrived back. I made tea for the room (to save Naru the embarrassment of revealing his incapabilities) and we were able to engage in Naru's worst nightmare: idle chatter.

And when I said _we_ engaged in idle chatter, I mean I talked endlessly. Naru was annoyed, given his tense body language. However, he couldn't complain. Not only was I boss but I also made him tea. Instead, he read his book and ignored me as I prattled on.

I took the opportunity to talk without interruption about school. Who was dating who. Who failed what tests (not me! My grades are doing a lot better than I expected thanks to Yasuhara's tutoring). I looked pointedly at Naru, informing him that, even though my friends are all dating people right now, they still ask me about 'that really cute ghost hunter you work for' and 'if he's still single.'

"I think Michiru would leave her boyfriend if you gave her a chance." I singsonged, erupting into giggles.

He continued to ignore me.

I sighed. So much for teasing to get him to join me in conversation. "How can you even read with me making all that noise?" He glared at me, looking up from the pages. If I gave him the opportunity to get a word in, I knew he would tell me that he was ignoring me. At the same time...he'd been on the same two pages for about twenty minutes I knew he wasn't actually ignoring me. "What are you reading anyway?"

Naru relented, lifting the book up so I could see the title. " _Turn of the Screw_. Henry James."

John made surprised noise, turning away from the computers and leaning toward the couch I shared with Naru. "Oh, I read that one in secondary school."

I blinked. Naru sighed. "It's high school in Australia, Mai."

 _Oh_.

The blonde priest smiled. "Don't worry, Mai-chan." His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "I didn't even like the book. It was dreadfully boring."

And with John's cheeky remark, Naru went back to ignoring us.

Maybe he didn't like his actual entertainment to be labeled as boring—especially considering so many of his actual research could be qualified as 'boring' (and I never failed to remind him).

Luckily, the door swung open and we weren't left in silence for too long. Instead, our friends started trickling back in.

"We're ba~ack!" Yasuhara cheered, towing Masako (who looked displeased to have needed to spend so long with his exuberant attitude).

She pulled her arm away and hid her face behind her kimono—probably also hiding a scowl. "And before anybody asks, no, I don't sense any human spirits in the building. Or in this apartment, for that matter."

I grinned cheekily. "Aww, isn't that what you always say, Masako?"

She glared and turned up her nose. But before she had the opportunity to object the base door was held open and Bou-san and Ayako piled in behind them. "No ghosts mean no blessings, which means we're free for the night!"

I clucked my tongue before Naru could offer his two sense (and he would, I could see his lips purse and his grasp on his teacup tighten). "Not quite, we still have to remain diligent. Just because Masako can't sense human spirits, doesn't mean that we're not dealing with something either not on her wavelength or something...not human."

Bou-san jutted his lip out. "Jou-chan, you really do sound like Naru-chan. It's unsettling, please stop."

I rolled my eyes. And yet...now that he mentions it. I think I definitely don't have enough jobs for the amount of people Naru enlisted to help. I turned to him, gnawing on my lip. "Naru, I think we could have done this with just the three of us. Even four of us," I amend, motioning to Yasuhara. I definitely hate the interviewing thing.

Naru just shrugged, the corners of his lips turning up in a smirk that he promptly hid by taking a sip of his tea. "It was in my best interest to make sure you weren't too uncomfortable for the job."

 _What did that mean?_

"Well if the Big Boss and the Little Boss are done pretending we don't exist, I insist that we start with dinner. I'm starved."

It was enough to silence the room. My eyes flicked back to Naru, trying to rework Naru's words through my head. But he had decided to remove himself from the situation entirely and was currently leaning over Lin's shoulder, asking technical questions very softly. I sighed. Whatever it was that he meant, he probably only intended on confusing me.

I turned to Bou-san and smiled. "We'll get started with dinner and compare notes, if you'll please."

The tension in the room relaxed as the food was distributed around the base. Naru and Lin stayed glued to the screen, John relinquishing his seat at the table to Naru wordlessly. I almost objected and called both Lin and Naru to the table to meet with us...but I decided against it. If they had anything important to add, they would. After all, it's supposed to be me working as the lead.

I'm confident that they wouldn't let me flail.

At least...I'm pretty sure they wouldn't let me fail.

I turned to my researcher as we all settled in with our takeout boxes. "We already heard from Masako that there were no ghosts. What did the interviews say?"

Yasuhara-san smiled, leaning back on his arms. "There's no other reports of any activity similar to this apartment. At least, not with any of the tenants that are home. Let me tell you— there are a lot of people _not_ home."

I blinked, setting down my takeout box. "Not home? But—"

But it's not close enough to the holidays to justify a mass departure from the building. Unless...

I turn back to Yasuhara. "Tomorrow, I want you to talk to the superintendent and ask how many people actually live in this building. Ask if he knows of previous tenants that might have had problems with activities." I twisted my lips and picked my food back up. "And see if you can charm some of the locals on the street into telling you about any odd stories pertaining to the building."

He nodded and pulled out a pocket notebook to add his new jobs. "Sounds like a plan."

"And the rest of us?"

The rest of them? I turned to Ayako, who voiced the question. "I won't know until we review the footage from the night..."

It was always like this on cases where we didn't have too much activity. And then again...we wouldn't have had so many people until absolutely necessary. Whatever Naru said, I still wish it was a smaller group to start out with and expanded as needed. Like we always did.

She snorted.

I gave her a brilliant smile. "Unless you're volunteering to research with Yasuhara-san? I have to warn you, he'll be doing a lot of walking and I'm not sure you brought walking shoes. But feel free to join him if you feel obliged."

John interrupted. "I'll go with Yasuhara-san

I smiled. "Thank you, John."

Ayako's cheeks burnt bright red as John steps up to my snarky request. "The monk was right," she whispered, grumpily. "Just like Naru."

She was right; I was channeling Naru to my best ability. But she didn't have to know that I knew she knew.

"What was that, Ayako?"

She averted her eyes, turning her nose back down to her takeout. "Nothing."

That's what I thought~

I ended the night the way we did when SPR was just a tiny office. Just the three of us. Lin and Naru watched the monitors carefully and I did what I knew best. I made tea.

In the kitchen it was deadly quiet. I couldn't even hear the soft sleeping noises from the rest of our crew in there. Humming quietly to myself, I put the kettle on the stove and busied myself with pulling out mugs and thinking about what needed to be done the next day. And all I could really think about is that I should have taken a note from Naru: I should have made myself a case journal.

Ah, well. Too late to worry about that.

When I turned back to the counter, one of the mugs I set out was gone. Strange. I swore I just set three aside. Now there were only two. Oh, well. Must've imagined it. I reached up and opened the cupboard to find a new one. My heart skipped a beat. There it was: the mug I would have sworn I just took out.

I hesitated a moment but grabbed a different one instead.

 _That was strange._ I refused to let myself dwell over the situation, though my hands shook as I completed the brewing process. I was suddenly very glad that I was alone in the kitchen. An onlooker would have immediately known something was wrong. Nothing was wrong. Nothing I couldn't handle.

It was just a misplaced cup.

Making it back to the base, I wordlessly handed Naru and Lin their mugs. I turned immediately away and found myself piling onto the couch at the edge of the room. I didn't feel like going over to the sleeping rooms just yet, not when I could still see that stupid mug I thought I had whenever I blinked.

I looked up and found Naru's eyes settled on me. He arched a brow, barely. "Did something happen?" His voice was even.

I forced a smile and burrowed myself farther into the couch cushions. "Of course not."

Whether or not he believed me was unclear. But he did leave me alone. He nodded and took a sip of his tea as he turned back to the monitors.

The rest of the night was quiet.


	3. Chapter 3

"Mai."

I woke up to shining light and a beautiful face far too close to my own for comfort. It didn't take a genius to recognize my boss. Except...he wasn't usually one for waking me up in the morning so maybe? This was... " _A dream_?"

The face tightened and looked away. "I'm not Gene, Mai," he said slowly. "You ought to know that by now."

Oh.

Oh, no.

I shook the sleep from my head and pushed myself up from the couch I passed out on the night before. "I knew it was you, jerk." I rubbed my eyes. "I can tell you apart, y'know. I'm not dumb."

Naru opened his mouth but closed it before he said anything. He was probably keeping in some joke about my obvious lack of intelligence. But I was thankful he reigned in the joke. Instead, he walked from the couch and plucked his clipboard from a side table. "I'll take the morning's temps before everybody else wakes up."

 _He can't do that_. I don't know why, but I know he can't. Shouldn't. Couldn't. I jumped up, ignoring my body's disapproval of such a sudden movement. "Nope! I'll do it!"

He arched a brow. "You just woke up." The rest of his sentiment was clear, even if he didn't say it. _You're not usually coherent first thing in the morning_.

Neither is he, but I couldn't bring myself to argue with him. I had energy for one thing. I wasn't gonna waste that on fighting with Naru first thing in the morning.

"Yeah, well, you probably didn't sleep." I swiped the clipboard from his hands and marched over to the door. "Humor me and pretend while I do this, 'kay? And that's an order."

I left before he could respond. But I did hear Lin snort as I closed the door behind me.

Point for me!~

I skipped with as much energy as I could muster between each room. It's brainless work now that Naru and the boys set everything up the night before. This was all just recording numbers, triple checking, and moving on.

Except...I was forced to stop on barely my second stop. The living room. This wasn't the right camera that was supposed to be here. According to Naru's notes this camera should be sitting in the kitchen right now. So what is it doing in here?

My heart jumped to my throat and I dashed to the kitchen. _No_. Not possible. I couldn't help but think about the stupid mugs from the night before. _Please, no_. That was just...a mistake. Except when I jump into the kitchen, it's exactly as I'd dreaded.

That's... That's not right.

"Ne, Naru? The camera for the kitchen is here in the living room. And vice versa."

Static fills my headset for a moment as he considered my statement. "There must have been a mistake in the setup. Mark it in your notes." He said finally. "Move on."

"You got it, boss," I chirped, happy to take back my assistant role for even just a second. It's easy to be boss when nothing was wrong. But something like this? I had no clue how to explain.

Neither of us mentioned that it was Naru that led the camera setup. And Naru never made mistakes.

If Naru didn't think this was an immediate problem, it wouldn't be until I returned to base.

* * *

When I returned to base, we didn't discuss the camera mishap. Not directly, at least. Naru, Lin, and I sat at the monitors for at least an hour before the others started trailing into base. And while the camera frames seemed to suggest that nothing moved at all...I distinctly remember the kitchen and living room cameras streams to be in the opposite corners before I went to bed. Lin agreed.

But that didn't make sense.

Even if Naru was the one on night patrol last night and Lin went to sleep...Naru doesn't miss anything. Ever.

Which meant we had a mystery on our hands.

And I definitely didn't want to think about it.

"You didn't come to the room last night." Ayako announced as she plopped onto the couch. She arched her brow, looking for an explanation.

I guess that was obvious considering I was still in my clothes from the day before. I shook my head. "I accidentally fell asleep here."

"Did you dream?"

That's the last question I wanted to hear. It's not that I'm against seeing Gene again. But at the same time, I hope his absence means that last night's mug stunt and this morning's camera incident were simply...coincidences. Nothing paranormal after all.

Just a normal apartment.

"I-" Defeated, I shook my head. "No. Not at all."

Masako rolled her eyes. "Even when you're supposed to be in charge, you're not dreaming when you need to be. What's the point?"

"Masako-chan, you're so mean, lately," I whined. "Is it because Naru put me in charge?"

She sniffed, turning her nose up. I whimpered. Masako deflated and covered her face with her kimono sleeves. "It's not you. It's..." Her eyes trailed off somewhere behind me and she shook her head, stopping. "I'm sorry, Mai."

I attempted a small smile. "And I'm sorry for being useless again."

"If you want to be useful again, you can remind your employees their responsibilities for the day."

Naru's voice disrupted our moment and I had to keep in my frustration. He always interrupted me when I was having a moment! But I suppose he had a point. There was no use to waste any more time dawdling. I sighed, pushing my plate away. "Reminder that Yasu and John are on research duty for today. You're talking to the superintendent, any applicable residents, and locals.

"We reviewed the footage from last night. And just as expected...there's nothing. So I suppose that Ayako, Bou, and Masako will be...double checking the status of any potential spirits. Go through every floor. When you come back, you can figure out what's the next step regarding potential exorcisms or blessings that might be needed. Like perhaps we just need charms to help ward off Wantabe-san's worries."

Now that I thought about it...she told up she was pregnant. Does that mean that perhaps she's just restlessly imagining things? I could hope.

"Naru, Lin, and I will stay at Base. I'll be reading Yasu's reports and picking Naru's brain to actually understand it. My day won't be over until I can get Naru to sigh at me at least a hundred times," I chirped, clapping my hands.

"Mai."

It was his irritated voice, which I ignored. There was no time for his pessimism until later. "So let's make sure we work hard today!" I cheered. Luckily for me, everybody (besides Naru and Lin, of course) joined in.

It was a good start for the day, all things considered.

* * *

By the time We made it through almost all of the rooms when I couldn't take it anymore. _Masako was right_. I needed to know before I went completely mad.

"Why am I doing this, Naru?"

For the briefest moment, I didn't think he would respond to me. Instead, he decided to hyperfocus on taking the room's temperature in a very exacting fashion. I knew he was avoiding the question; it took him twice as long now compared to the rooms we've already checked. He wrote the temperature carefully, to four decimal points. (He normally only went to three.)

I opened my mouth to ask again. But he shook his head, relenting.

His eyes shifted away. "After this, I'm afraid that I'll be making my return to England."

My heart caught in my throat. "E—England?" I squeaked out. "You're going back home?"

He didn't reply. Instead, he focused on the clipboard in his hands and read the temperatures he's been recording. He erased a number and wrote it exactly the same as before.

Procrastinating.

I probably shouldn't have asked; he hated opening up to people.

I hated this. The silence was worse.

"Are you staying there permanently?" I managed, attempting disinterest. I kept my attention trained on the camera we were supposed to be double-checking after this morning's unexplained switch. After all, why should I care if my so-called boss continued to leave us in the dust like we didn't matter?

If Naru didn't care, neither did I.

"I don't know."

Well, there was a non-answer. Not helpful, Naru!

"Why now?" Didn't he just come back from England? Why come back if he was just going to go back to England so soon?

He shook his head and pinched his nose. "I need to finish my thesis. And I need to defend it. I need to finish my doctorate." Naru spoke like he was reminding me of the most obvious thing in the world.

His tone wasn't as cruel as it normally was but it still peeved me.

I scoffed. "Right, Dr. Oliver Davis, how could I forget? You need to lead BSPR, after all. It's probably far better than working here in a tiny country with people you hardly tolerate." I didn't care that he flinched when I called him by his real name (something I never did because, despite all my best efforts, my English remained mediocre).

Instead, I focused on the tightening of my chest. I couldn't believe he was leaving. Again. "Why don't you just leave Madoka-san here like last time you abandoned us?"

"Mai—"

Whatever it was he was going to say, he was interrupted. The lights went out and I heard the distinct screams of my friends in the other room. Ignoring Naru and his stupid excuses, I dropped my clipboard and ran.

 _Ayako_!

* * *

I exiled myself from the base as soon as I knew Ayako was OK. She had a semi-serious gash across the right side of her torso (the mysterious part is that while her shirt was stained with blood, it seemed to happen beneath the material). Not deep enough to need stitches. But bad enough that we had to break out her heavy-duty first aid kit. She instructed Bou on the proper method of applying butterfly sutures while the rest of the crew offered sideline support.

My job was simple: figure out if there was a non-paranormal explanation for Ayako's gash. Naru and Lin were already backtracking through the tapes to check what had happened in the entryway for temperature drops or other things that might hint at the paranormal.

Even though I wasn't happy that my friend was hurt, I was grateful for the distraction.

I really shouldn't have started that conversation with Naru earlier.

I searched high and low with no avail. Nothing in the corners and nothing sticking out from the plaster. I triple-checked! I ran my fingers on every available surface and there wasn't anything.

A sharp knock made me jump just as I was about to trudge back to base. _Hm? Everybody's already back here_. Perhaps it was Wantabe-san? I swung the door open and found myself face-to-face with a staunch man with wrinkles engraved deep in his face.

I immediately stepped back.

Stranger.

His eyes narrowed on my figure. "You're not Watanabe-san."

 _Thank you for stating the obvious, sir._ I tried my best to avoid rolling my eyes. "No, she's with her husband's parents this week." I smiled as professionally as I could. "Is there anything I could help you with?"

The man shifted under my gaze. "I'm her landlord."

Oh! I bowed and put on a real smile. "Nice to meet you..." For the life of me, I couldn't remember what the landlord's name was supposed to be.

"Takahashi. Takahashi Kaito."

"Nice to meet you, Takahashi-san. I'm the lead investigator on this case with Shibuya Psychic Research." I looked him in the eye. "We're investigating reported activity in Watanabe-san's apartment, I'm sure you received my boss's calls?"

His brows furrowed together. "You're only a high school student."

 _Wow, really? I didn't know that!_ If he had a problem with my age, I wondered how he would react meeting Naru. A third-year high school student running an investigation is one thing. A university-aged (even though he was already done with uni) student being the owner of a company like SPR is always far more off-putting than a high-school investigator.

My nose scrunched. "Yes, but I assure you I am a professional. I've been doing this for a long time." There was no need to tell him that this was my first solo case.

Takahashi didn't seem to believe me but he didn't protest any farther. "In any case, I'm here regarding the power outage." He pulled his hand over his beard as if he was thinking. "Were any of your... _colleagues_...hurt?"

"Hurt?" And why did he have to say 'colleagues' like that? Like he didn't believe me? "Well, one of my friends was hurt. But I'm unsure on if it correlated with the power outage. It could have been just a coincidence."

Of course, there typically wasn't such thing as coincidence when we were hunting ghosts.

Takahashi didn't need to know that.

"I see."

"Is there any particular reason you ask?"

He smiled but there was something in his eyes that made me step back. Whatever it was, I didn't like it. "It seems that every time the power goes out in this building, there's some sort of injury. I check with every tenant to ensure their safety. I'll be sure to note that this time, it came from the Watanabe apartment."

Unfortunately for me, I didn't have the experience to react to this in a professional manner. For the first time today, I really wished that Naru was in charge today. "O-Okay?"

There was that look again! He pivoted away. "Tell your friend...they might need stitches. You best call a doctor."

 _She is a doctor_. But I was stunned. Is the injury the same every time? Or...should I be worried about something...bigger? "I'll...let them know."

"Have a great evening."

 _That's it_? I reached out and my stomach clenched. I probably shouldn't be doing this, but I'm already halfway through the motion. _Too late to rethink it, Mai_. "Uh, actually, Takahashi-san?"

"Hmm?"

"I, uh, I wanted to ask. Is there a reason you never responded to the correspondence from the lead boss at SPR? He said he called—"

He smiled kindly. It didn't meet his eyes. "Have a nice day young lady. If you or your friends are interested in an apartment, we do have rooms available."

Of course, he didn't answer my question. I didn't know why I expected him to.

If there were rooms available, why didn't he allow us to use any of them as our base? I didn't question it openly, though, as he escaped down the hall. I just closed the door and let out a sigh. I'm really not into this whole professional correspondence thing. And I'm a people person! Goodness knew how people-hating Naru went about this nonsense.

Oh, no. If I was to do this full-time, would I turn into an un-personable snob?

(I hoped not.)

A shine caught my attention as I turned back to the hall leading to base. _What is that_?

I crouched down to eye level. The shine? A nail stuck out from the drywall.

It was at the right height for Ayako's scratch, I think.

Except...didn't I already scour these walls?

Furthermore-if she scratched herself on a nail...wouldn't it have ripped through her shirt?

* * *

With the nail tucked inside my skirt pocket, I retreated back to base to find the rest of our team circled around the table. Apparently Yasu and John had gotten the memo and doubled back as soon as they could (picking up our dinner on the day because Ayako's cooking skills were currently out of commission).

This wasn't the easy investigation that I had hoped it was going to be...

I pushed and shoved at my dinner as my friends happily chatted, babying Ayako (even though she insisted she was fine, I think she appreciated the attention). In fact, I waited until everybody was finished before bringing our work back into the conversation. I could already see Naru wanting to interrupt with a sarcastic comment about unnecessary, inane chatter but I beat him to the punch.

"John, Yasu, did you find anything out in your investigations today?"

John scrunched his nose. "The superintendent avoided us all day. And either everybody in the building is on vacation or there are a _lot_ of vacancies here."

"Or they're all avoiding us!" Yasu chirped, raising his hand.

"Or that."

Yasu continued. "But we did manage to talk with some nearby people and start some library work. Unfortunately, that's when Ayako had her incident so that part was cut a bit short." He hummed, rubbing his chin. "That's probably what I'll focus on tomorrow. That or pay some busybodies there to do my work for me."

Shaking my head, I sighed. I really didn't want to give him money to pay others to do research. What was the point of _him_ being a researcher if he wasn't going to...research? "What did the people say?"

"Right! Uh, they actually were very surprised to hear that we were paranormal investigators. Many people say that the charm of the area is that there is little to no paranormal activity ever in this area. That's how the superintendent is able to keep making his dues."

 _Except, for someone making his dues, he sure has a lot of vacant rooms._ I hesitated, tapping my chin. "The explanation doesn't need to be paranormal; it could just be...like..." I remembered the strange interaction I had earlier after Ayako was hurt. "Yasu, is it possible for you to check out the landlord tomorrow?"

He nodded. "He avoided me today but nobody has more persistence than I do! I'll make sure I have his statement by the end of tomorrow!" Yasu winked, attempting to lighten the mood.

But it didn't help. I still remembered Takahashi-san appearing right after Ayako was hurt. Which couldn't have been a coincidence...but perhaps a mistake? He'd forgotten that we were here? Maybe if...maybe if he remembered that we were here...he wouldn't have checked up on the apartment?

 _What is that man hiding_?

"Is there a specific reason that you want to look at the landlord and not the other tenants?"

Biting my lip, I looked down to avoid Bou's inquisitive gaze. "No reason. At least, nothing important." I glanced up to the worried looks of my friends. "I'll be sure to let you guys know if that changes."

Masako rolled her eyes. "By the time you let us know, it'll probably be too late."

Maybe!

Except there were two things: 1) I wasn't sure if it was my so-called clairvoyance telling me that the landlord was dangerous or just plain-old paranoia. 2) Naru was allowed to maintain the element of surprise, so why couldn't I?!

I was the boss, after all!

* * *

The night wound down the same exact way it did the night before:

Just the three of us. Naru, Lin, and me.

Thankfully, nobody asked me to make tea because I wasn't about to test the theory that _everything_ was exactly like the night before. Instead, Naru cornered me on the couch with his stupid black notebook and prompted me to recount the day to the best of my ability. A 'daily report,' he called it but I doubted it was procedure considering he didn't ask me this last night.

At first, it was easy. Just the cameras (which we were now keeping a very close eye on) and Ayako, mostly. By the time I had to spew back all the research from Yasu and John's research expedition I was nodding off, unable to help myself.

After all Naru woke me up way too early. Even he didn't wake up that early on cases so either he was still up from the night before or he decided that an early wake up call was enough motivation to torture me.

Considering how tired he looked, I wouldn't doubt that he slept these past two days.

 _What's keeping him awake_?

Certainly not this case. Then...what?

"Mai, I need you to focus." Naru sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Pay attention more to the things you think don't matter. It's all a part of being an efficient investigator.

"Why does this matter, Naru?" I pouted, rubbing the sleepiness from my eyes. I tried to keep myself from yawning. He would be mad at me if I fell asleep mid-report. "You're just gonna close the Japan branch when you leave."

Naru refused to look up from his notes. "It's important you maintain good research ethic."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Cause I'll be ghost hunting without you—I mean, SPR." I kept my eyes down on my notes so he couldn't see the tears that (very stupidly) sprung to my eyes. "I couldn't afford to do this even if I found a job that paid as well as SPR."

The truth hurt a lot more than I expected. I expected the crying part at some point during this case but that's because I always cried at stupid times. Did I have to really start looking for another job when we home?

"Mai—"

There was something in his voice that struck me as oddly familiar. It wasn't a tone I would immediately dub as 'Naru,' except it was awfully familiar.

I pushed the thought from my head and stretched. "Yeah, yeah. It'll serve me right in university." I sighed, refusing to let him get in any jabs at my intelligence. "If uni is even an option, that is."

Really, he didn't need to remind me constantly of my inadequacy in comparison to him. It's not my fault that he decided to hire someone with as much training as he did. No, he chose me. Now he needed to stop complaining about it because I would be out of his hair soon enough. And he knew that.

"Mai—" He tried again.

I waved my hand. I really didn't need to be reprimanded tonight. "Yeah, yeah. I'm off track again. Back to work." Crossing my arms, I leaned back into my seat and sighed. "You don't pay me to babble."

Luckily for me, he didn't point out that he did, in fact, occasionally pay me to babble.

(Babbling is my specialty, next to sleeping and empathizing.)

I finished the report, sitting up straight so I wouldn't sleep and counting off my plans for the next day on my hands. I only hoped that I remembered them tomorrow because Naru was nodding along, which means that they were, at the very least, decent plans.

Then I was free!

Deciding that sleeping in the base again would only lead to another dreadful wakeup call, I pushed myself up off the couch headed for the door. Seems like I would just join the girls tonight (and Masako couldn't even pretend to complain because I knew she would be sleeping).

"Goodnight, Naru-chan," I said when I reached the door.

"Hngh." He continued flipping through his notes as I spoke. Even when I'm supposed to be in charge, he's still completely uptight about his notes.

Yeah, yeah. I should have known better than to expect a goodnight wish from him. But I couldn't help myself. From now until whenever he closed SPR, I will make him act with decency toward me. I didn't care if I died trying.

Naru would be nice to me.

"Goodnight, Lin-san."

He didn't say anything but nodded vaguely in my direction. He's still not entirely personable though this was an improvement. And certainly better than Naru (though I supposed it didn't matter considering his impending departure).

I made my way slowly through the short hall until I dumped myself into the room the girls shared. By Watanabe's story, I would have expected there to be much more activity in this tiny apartment. Heck! I expected there to be more activity in this whole building (if we could ever get ahold of the other tenants)!

I became lost in my thoughts as I stumbled through my night routine and changed into pajamas. Surely by tomorrow, something needed to happen or I would have to call the case an absolute bust.

There was something to be said, though, if my first solo case was a bust, huh? I guess it didn't really matter if it was my only case because SPR would be closing soon.

Therefore, no need to worry about my impending failure...

I closed my eyes and let the sound of Ayako and Masako's breathing lull me to sleep.

Unfortunately, my intentions on sleeping were no good because as I fell asleep, I wound up finding myself standing in front of Watanabe's apartment building. A vision? So early in the case?

I whipped around with an ache in my chest. A vision normally meant... "Gene?" I called softly. But if the Davis twin was there, he didn't show up. I'm almost glad. There's no way I would have been able to give him a proper goodbye (this time for good) if he needed to tell me about the case. Would I have cried for real?

There's no time to ponder my emotional integrity because as I turned, I'm faced with a surprise. Not Gene. Instead, there was a little girl standing in front of me. She couldn't have been any older than the kids at the orphanage at John's church.

 _Is she my spirit guide for the night_?

She smiled, holding her small hand out to me. "I've been waiting for you, Onee-chan."

I smiled back and took her hand.


End file.
